Advertisers are targeting mobile apps more and more

According to Smaato‘s Global Trends in Mobile Programmatic Report,during Q3 2015, mobile marketers have shifted their focus back towards advertising on apps. Based on the 6bn ads the ad exchange serves each day, across 800m mobile devices, the study saw a 6% shift in favour of apps for both supply and spend. Previously, apps comprised 65% of all traffic and 67% of spend during Q3 2014. A year onwards, these figures have jumped to 71% and 73% respectively. Part of this shift may be attributed to growing fears over ad blockers and a stronger focus on platforms where they cannot reach, such as apps.

In addition, Android supply and spend is ahead that on iOS, leaping 67% during the third quarter in 2015. iOS supply rose 38% and spend 44%. Surprisingly, Windows Phone also saw a rise with a 32% year-on-year growth due to the market success of Windows Phone 8 devices in some markets.

The study took an in-depth look at emerging marketing hot spots and found Latin America to be growing rapidly. Smaato’s Exchange noted a Q3 rise in supply in Venezuela (91%), Bolivia (68%) and Mexico (66%). Indonesia now ranks second globally in supply and fifth for spending. A reflection of growth in the area is Smaato’s partnership with Indosat, the mobile operator, to launch the Indonesia Mobile Exchange (IMX), a mobile ad exchange to connect marketers with Indonesian consumers.

Top countries for supply and growth of supply

Top countries for spend and growth of spending

When it comes to formats, it seems publishers are favouring larger formats for apps and web user experience. Medium rectangle 300×250 units were up 85% in Q3 2015, compared to 320×50 banners. 320×480 interstitial ads rose 77% the year over. Larger formats reflect a shift towards enhancing the user experience as ads can be more easily seen.

In addition, video and native advertising has grown steadily over the last few months. Marketers are generally geared towards delivering more rich media adverts, driven by a move from feature phones to smartphones. Indeed, rich media ads are more effective with 116% of higher revenues for publishers and app developers over image-based ads. More engaging formats generally fare better with consumers and advertisers have finally taken note.

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